1

Touching the soul of Ghana

Crowning

Jesus

© Jim Smith. December 2014

This material may be downloaded and copied for personal, group of church use. It is not to be changed and it is not to be sold.

jimsmithghana@yahoo.co.uk kayisefa.gh@gmail.com www.touchingthesoul.org

Pearl Mission base, Medie, Accra, Ghana

2

Introduction

“Touching the soul of Ghana” is a ministry helping God’s people see what is happening in the heavenly places over Ghana, to try and explain those happenings to us today. The key material - “The Seven Sorrows”, “The Five Wounds”, “The Three Hopes” and “One Lord” are available from the website, and are the background to this material.”

Crowning Jesus

“Crowning Jesus” is just a part of the pathway of repentance and healing which we are having to travel, as we try to get right again before the Lord. It is a very simple concept, but the theology is quite challenging, so I am looking at that first before I outline the very simple steps we can take to begin the crowning.

The road to salvation

Jim Smith is currently writing the next part of the “Touching the soul” project.

The material will be called “The Road to Salvation.” It is even more hard hitting

than “Touching the soul.” But it does show the possible way ahead for the

church, if it is serious in its commitment to obedience and repentance. It will be

available on the website by Easter 2015.

3

The Crowning – exalting the Name

The lifting up of God - the “crowning” - begins with his exaltation. The key passages for this are Isaiah chapter 6 and Revelation chapter 5.

Here is the passage from Isaiah:-

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-4)

This passage gives us the key elements in Old Testament exaltation:-

* High and exalted. The Lord is King above all kings, and Lord above all lords. He should have all honour and praise from those who love him. He gets this from the Seraphim, the "fiery ones" who have unique love for him. He should get the same from his creation, not because he forces it, but because he deserves it.

* Seated on a throne. The Lord is king, and Lord of all.

*Train of robe filled the Temple. The greatness of the Lord is not restricted to time or place. His glory fills the earth, as his train fills the Temple.

* Above him were the Seraphim. The Seraphim are the “fiery ones.” (‘The seraphim burn with incomparable love.’ Gregory the Great.) They exist only to exalt God. They give us an example to follow.

* Holy. The One who is exalted is holy. This word means “different, separate, and uniquely pure.” It is hard for us to appreciate this holiness, but we are able to live in its healing shadow. The Lord is not just “holy.” He is Trinitarian holy – “Holy, Holy, Holy.” This great surge of pure holy light challenged the spirit of Isaiah, who saw in that light his own true state.

4

* Lord Almighty. The Lord is “Yahweh Sabaoth” which means “The Lord of Hosts is with us.” This name denotes His universal sovereignty over every army, both spiritual and earthly. The Lord of Hosts is the king of all heaven and earth. (Psalm 24:9-10; Psalm 84:3; Isaiah 6:5).

* Whole earth full of his glory. This is the “kabod” (Glory) of the Lord, the mark of his purity and majesty. When the kabod is exposed, all humanity bows down and worships. (2 Chronicles 7:3) The whole earth is full of kabod. Every corner of the physical and spiritual realm is the Lord's. He is exalted in his creation because he is greater than every part of it.

*Doorposts shook and temple was filled with smoke. The physical realm trembles at such power. It wasn't the last time - see Matt.27:51-53

The New Testament adds to our understanding of exaltation. Here is the passage from Revelation 5:-

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God men from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!”

5

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Rev 5:6-end)

What new things do we learn here?

* And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Jesus is worthy of worship by all of heaven, just as is the Father.

* You are worthy. Jesus is the “Holy, Holy, Holy” of Isaiah 6. He is the purifying fire of Malachi 3:2. He is without sin, (2 Cor.5:21) and from everlasting to everlasting. (Rev 21:6) He is worthy!

* “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise. He is not just worthy to take the scroll, but is worthy of all that heaven and earth can offer.

* To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. The Trinity is worthy to be exalted.

Our God is exalted. We worship the Lord of heaven and earth who also wants and longs to reign over Ghana. But does he?

The Crowning - the authority to be crowned

Jesus has earned the right to be crowned and to reign over Ghana. Let’s look at this passage:-

Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

6

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:6-11)

We have caught a glimpse of the exaltation of God in Isaiah, and of the Lord in Revelation. In Philippians, Apostle Paul shows us why lifting the name of the Lord is so powerful.

* Being in very nature God. His pre-existent willingness to save, his incarnation, his obedience, his sacrifice and his death have filled his name with all the power of O.T. and N.T. revelation of God.

* Therefore God exalted him. Father has done for his Son what we must do for him here on earth.

* Every knee shall bow. The name of Jesus has the power. The Red Sea, Jericho, the Philistines, Goliath, the stormy Galilee, Lazarus and Calvary all speak of this truth. The name is powerful, and we must learn to live under that name, making sure it is the covering over us and our lands. If this covering should fail:-

How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. (Lam.1:1)

The Crowning – the triumph of the Crowned One

Jesus has his crown by the authority of the Father from heaven. Yet he has earned it here on earth, in these ways:-

* Nailed:- He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (Col 2:13-14)

* Redeemed:- For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19)

7

* Making peace:- And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.(Col 1:20)

* Cleansing:- If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)

* Destroying:- Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebs 2:14-15)

Jesus has his crown by right, and has sealed this right by his sacrifice.

8

The third lament

The soul

The sickness is growing. The pollution is everywhere.

I will be crushed and my beauty taken from me.

Once I rested in the sun

glorious in my Father's presence. But now I am being wasted,

spoilt, damaged, broken, and there is no end to the desert of shame

in which I now wander.

The Lord

My plan for you was one of love but it was not enough for you.

The path was beside still waters Now it is a desert waste.

My people, you who were to be my glory

now have become my shame.

I wanted only good for you. But it was not enough.

You turned to other ways And now the desert is consuming you.

My glory in you is shattered And I am bewildered.

This is my third lament

9

Has Jesus lost his throne over Ghana?

A vision

Walking in the desert, I saw, in the distance a man filled with sorrows. I got close to him, and I saw his wounds and his tears. I asked “Who are you and why are you so sad? Why are you here in this desert place. You will die here.”

“Once I was safe” he said, “but I lost my protection. I was beaten and rejected. Now I have no one to love and heal me, and no one to help me.”

“But who are you?” I asked. He did not answer me, but looked back over my shoulder. I turned to look, and saw a land filled with darkness and shame. Names came out of the cloud - obscene blasphemous names. These names broke the hearts of the people, but there was no escape for them. They were forced to endure the names day and night. There was no relief.

I saw old men and women, crying with the shame. I saw young people and children, growing up but distorted and twisted by the names. In their sorrow they said “Why has this happened to us. Why didn't our parents stop this terrible burdening?”

I was shocked, and asked the man “Why did this happen?” He began to cry again. “They shamed the name” he said, and darkness fell.

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. (Rev 13:5-8)

10

When the name and person of Jesus is no longer held in high honour, he is denied his throne. This has serious consequences. It is not just that another name gets the ascendancy, or the agony we must suffer as a consequence. It is the insult to his name - the humiliation, the disgrace, the rejection. This he cannot allow. He cannot allow his name to be pulled down. He made this very clear in Exodus 20 – “no other gods.” Has the Lord been denied his crown in Ghana? How do we see this ? Let’s begin by looking into the heart of the Ghanaian church. What do we find?

In the heart

* Deceit: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 2:13)

We see plenty of this - Ghanaians honour God with their lips but in their hearts they are merely waiting for the next blessing. The idea of commitment, service, suffering, enduring to victory only and solely for the sake of his name and his love is far from Ghana. The first question always seems to be “What can I get?” That has usually been the question people ask of me, when they mistakenly see a rich westerner. To be honest, it demeans Ghana, but it goes on and on.

* Rebellion: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jer.6:16)

It's everywhere. I have been trying to share the soul and heart of Ghana for years, but people ignore, reject or go to sleep. The people are addicted to the Ghanaian false optimism that “God will always bless us.” So they go after prosperity, ignoring the true voice of God which has been shouting louder and louder “Don't go that way!”

But the Ghana spirit is a rebellious one. It seeks its own way, regardless of the consequences for others. It’s a “me me me” spirit. It constantly, persistently and relentlessly puts its own interpretation on the word of the Lord rather than testing and waiting on him.

11

The Ghana churches can no longer hear the true voice of prophecy. Long ago the prophets sold themselves out to the comfort and prosperity message. Now, when it is desperately needed, the voice speaks rarely, if at all. (1 Sam 3:1) When it does not suit, the Christians in Ghana adopt a simple approach- it cannot be from God. Where this dangerous attitude comes from I do not know.

Vision

I was standing alone in a vast plain. All was barren and hopeless. Great sorrow filled me. “Lord” I cried “where are your people?”

The Lord took me by the hand, and I went to place after place, but there was no gathering of his people. Churches were empty and abandoned. There was no song of praise.

The dark angels grew stronger, and I was afraid.

“Lord” I cried “ help us. How can we survive?”

“ I called but you did not listen” said the Lord.

“Why did you behave like that?”

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor.4:4)

12

In the heavenly places

We always see these things from our earthly position. What does losing his crown mean for the Lord in the heavenly places? Why have we allowed to happen to him?

* Theft: Readers of “Touching the Soul” will recognise this material:-

The bible teaches “At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth” (Phil. 2:10) but the Dragon stole this name with a “blasphemous name” (Rev 12:1) The Bible teaches “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” (Matt 28:18) but we read “The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.” (Rev 13:2) The Bible teaches that Jesus “is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” (Col 1:18) The beast claims this same resurrection gift -“One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.” (Rev 13:3)

The Bible teaches that we have one God and we should “Worship him!” (Rev 22:9) The beast steals this worship - “People worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshipped the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?’ (Rev 13:4) The Bible teaches that Jesus is “The Way, the Truth and the Life.” (John 14:6) but the beast steals the truth - “Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth.” (Rev 13:14) The Bible teaches that Jesus brings freedom - “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) And the beast? “The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.” (Rev 13:15)

13

* Rejection: “But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. (John 19:15) Has Ghana rejected the Lord in the heavenly places? Perhaps we prefer a softer word, but the Lord doesn’t see it like this. From his point of view, it is rejection. We have preferred another way. He said - “This is my way. Walk in it.” But we did not. This is rejection.

* Destruction: “Crucify him!” (John 19:15) Have we destroyed his kingly rule over us? No one said that putting this right was going to be easy.

This is bad enough, but we have to go further.

The apostasy of love

A vision

In the land the Spirit was silent. No voice of praise was lifted up. The church was crucified just like its Master but unlike him it was not a willing sacrifice. In an apostasy of love men regretted what they had lost and embraced the cross only in anger and resentment trying if they could to shake off its shame. But a few paid the price laying down their lives bearing the pain and the shame. In them the Spirit flickered and hope reached for a resurrection

Apostasy - greater love

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)

“No man has greater love than that he lays down his life for his friends. But I, the Son of God have a greater one than this for I lay down my life for my enemies.” (Peter Joseph Arnout.)

14

The Bible tells us that Jesus did not just love, but had “greater love.” As the Greek word for “love” is “agape”, which is a profound and deep love, almost beyond our understanding, then “Greater agape” must be some awesome and agonisingly deep love. Jesus had it. This greater love is the love which lays down its life for its friends, and its enemies. This love showed itself in these ways:-

* His willingness to come to this earth and to love us - who deserve no love. For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Romans 5:10)

* His willingness to go to Calvary for us. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” (Mark 10:33-34)

* His desire to offer us Calvary love - forgiving and welcoming us home. Despite so many rejections and so many crucifixions he goes on loving and offering us redeeming love. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. (Luke 15:24)

Our covering?

This greater love is the covering over Ghana, and responding to that love, welcoming the King to his throne is the crowning of Jesus over Ghana.

Our task is to ensure that he is honoured as king over Ghana, and to protect his kingship from any attack. He is able to do this of course, but we are in partnership with him, and he looks to us to play our part. We are to watch, (Habakkuk 2:1) protect (Hebrew 11) and to pray down power to defeat any attack on that kingship covering. (1 Samuel 17)

Losing this love is fatal:-

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Rev.2:4-5)

15

Apostasy to the Greater Love is a self-willed movement away from it to the love of another - the gods of this world.

The church in Ghana has been so absorbed in self - self-promotion, self-achievement, self-greed - that it has lost its first love. This is bad enough, as Ephesus found out, but we may have gone further and become apostates of love.

“Apostasia” (n) and “aphistimi” (v) mean “falling away under pressure,(Lk. 8:11-13) or through self-willed movement.” (Hebs. 3:12-14))

Have we so failed to love, become so self-absorbed that we have moved into the position Ezekiel saw? Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. (Ezek.10:18) Has the Glory departed from over Ghana?

We have failed to protect the crowned Lord's position as the covering over Ghana. Have we become apostates of love, turning to ourselves, and forgetting, ignoring or even ridiculing him?

Apostasy – another name?

The enemy has seized his chance. He has lifted another name over the land. The Lord cannot tolerate this, and as we have failed to protect the name, he will, as Ezekiel teaches, remove his glorious covering from us – he may already have done so.

Most of the Church seems to be oblivious to this truth. They are either so sunk in prosperity that nothing can penetrate their hearts, or they are sunk in the false optimism of the Ghana spirit. Even worse – perhaps they don’t even care. Many Ghanaians say “It will not happen to us.” Many Ghanaians are unrealistic, blind or stupid. It is happening already.

The greatest sorrow of all is that despair is entering the people of God, as it did when Goliath appeared. On that occasion we read “On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.” (1 Sam.17:11) Once despair get a hold, all hope is lost.

16

Crowning Jesus

A vision

I saw the Lord standing in Ghana. He was shining brilliant white, and his glory filled the sky. Across the plain a few people came. They were tired and stained by much travelling. When they saw the Lord, they were afraid, but he called them to him. “Do not fear” he said.

The people stood in front of him. “We have come” they said “ to offer you this.”

They reached into a bag they were carrying and pulled out of it a twisted and damaged crown. “We are so sorry” they said. “This was your glory over us, but it was stolen and broken. By much suffering, mourning and grief we took it back from those who had taken it, but we cannot mend it. The damage is too great.” They began to cry at the damage to the crown, and their weakness and failure.

The Lord took the crown in his hand, and it began to shine - just a little.

“Can it be restored?” they asked.

The Lord gave them no answer. His tears began to flow.

“No one else would come with us” they replied.

“This should not have happened” he said, and all of heaven grieved.

But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebs 2:9)

Putting Jesus back on the throne of Ghana is going to be long and painful process. What has to happen?

* The Spirit has to move

At Mizpah, Israel began again when the Spirit moved in them to turn back to the Lord - Then all the people of Israel turned back to the Lord. (1 Sam.7:2)

17

This return can only happen when the Spirit moves. Perhaps we can urge that move of the Spirit. After all, He does want to glorify Jesus and re-crowning Jesus would be a glorification. But we cannot demand it. It has to be a move of grace in the heart of God.

* We have to be changed

There is no quick fix here. Repentance - true life changing and sacrificial repentance – has to follow to Spirit’s moving.

So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. (v3)

The Spirit responds to our hearts, and perhaps for the first time enough hearts are bleeding and crying for the loss of this land. But the Spirit has to move first. For too long we have told the Lord what to do, and that is a disaster. We can only plead for his moving, and allow the Spirit to intercede for us with sighs too deep for words - We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Rom 8:26)

18

Jesus Christ is Lord

19

Our response

What can we do? Why don’t we start lifting the name of Jesus over Ghana again? This will begin the process of re-crowning him. We have much to do but that does not stop us making a beginning. How can we do that?

“Jesus Christ is Lord”

As I was praying one day, the Lord spoke to me. “Exalt my name in Ghana” he said. I began to think about this. Suppose, all over Ghana, we began to proclaim the name of the Lord again. Three times a day- at 6.00 a.m., noon and 6.00 p.m. Wherever we were, we spoke out “Jesus Christ is Lord.” We would have to commit ourselves to doing it for the rest of our lives, and doing it wherever we were. No single time must be missed. If 2000 people committed to this, then 6000 times a day, “Jesus Christ is Lord” would be spoken into the heavens over Ghana.

Then I designed a card, and this is what I put on it:-

It is time for God’s people to lift the name of Jesus over Ghana.

Every day, at 6.00 a.m., 12.00 noon and at 6.00 p.m., speak out the name of Jesus, using the words on this card.

If enough of us commit ourselves to doing this, the Lord will begin to take his position over Ghana again. His name will be lifted high, and his will become the centre of our Nation.

This project is part of the “Touching the soul of Ghana” ministry. Read about it, and download the free materials at

www.touchinthesoul.org.

On the front of the card I put the words to be spoken - “JESUS CHRST IS LORD.”

20

Who will join Paul Sefa and myself in this daily commitment? If you are saying “Yes” then begin right now. There is a card and a wrist band available to encourage you not to forget! But in my experience, once we make this kind of commitment, the Spirit makes sure we do not forget.

Final vision

The people sat down before the Lord. Glory flowed around, and they were refreshed. The Lord asked “Where are the others?”

“What others?” they asked.

“I called to my people. I called for them to repent of their sin, and to come to me in repentance, so that I might know they have a new heart towards me. Now I see that so few have heard me.

“Lord” they cried “Surely we few are enough? We want you to wear your crown again. We want to be under your protection again. We want other names to be silenced.”

“But so few” he replied. “Go and bring others. “

All materials are available from the website www.touchingthesoul.org

Go to KEY DOCUMENTS page